Things were looking bad at the end of regulation for the Giants as Lawrence Tynes missed two straight fields goals including one as time was expiring.  But he redeemed himself in OT as he made CB Corey Webster’s interception of Brett Favre in OT stand up.  The Giants advance to the Super Bowl with a rematch with the Patriots who the Giants gave all they could handle in the last week of the regular season.  Eli Manning continued his solid post season play as he completed 21 of 40 passes for 254 yards.  Brandon Jacobs rushed for 67 yards on 21 carries (3.2 ypc) with a TD run.  Ahmad Bradshaw shared the running game with Jacobs as he carried the ball 16 times for 63 yards (3.9 ypc) with a TD run.  Plaxico Burress had an outstanding game as he caught 11 passes for 154 yards (14.0 avg).  Amani Toomer pitched in with 4 grabs for 42 yards (10.5 avg).  The Giants finished up with 134 yards rushing on 39 carries (3.4 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 40 passes for 246 yards.

The Giants really played well, especially in the second half and overtime.  Safety Gibril Wilson led the way for the Giants on defense with 8 tackles.  Cornerback Corey Webster only had three tackles but he also had the big interception of Brett Favre in overtime to set up kicker Lawrence Tynes for the game winning kick.  The Packers finished up with 28 yards rushing on 14 carries (2.0 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 35 passes for 236 yards.

This should be a great game to watch on T.V. as the game time temperature is expected to be 4 degrees.  Still, the Giants and Packers are used to cold weather so the best team will still likely win the game. 

The Giants will need to run the football effectively to have any chance to win this football game.  That’s because the Packers don’t blitz often which leaves their linebackers in pass coverage which will hurt the Giants when they try to throw short.  With that in mind the Giants will likely try to pound the football with Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw.  It will be interesting to see who wins the battle up front because if the Giants can’t run the ball and give Eli Manning time to throw the ball this game will be over quick.

The Packers will likely lean on their running game in the frigid weather.  This will likely be a problem for the Giants who had big problems last week with Marion Barber.  Ryan Grant rushed for 201 yards last week against the Seahawks and he’ll be looking to make the Giants pay for trading him to the Packers for a 6th round pick.  The Giants will likely have huge problems with Brett Favre because he gets rid of the ball so fast that it will likely negate the Giants pass rush which is the strength of their team. 

PREDICTION:  GREEN BAY PACKERS 28, NEW YORK GIANTS 13

The Giants were thinking about firing Tom Coughlin in the off-season last year but they decided to keep him and he has led the Giants on a sweet ride so far this season.  The Giants finished 2nd in the NFC East with a 10-6 record which earned them a Wild Card spot.  The Giants then defeated the Bucs and Cowboys on the road which has them now one game away from playing in the Super Bowl.  Coughlin has now been the head coach of the Giants for four seasons now and he has a regular season record of 35-29 (.547 %).  Coughlin is now 2-2 in the playoffs with the Giants.  Coughlin has now been a NFL head coach for 12 seasons with the Jaguars and Giants and he has a regular season record of 103-89 (.536 %) and a post season record of 6-6 (.500 %).

The Giants only had possession of the football for 23:30 of this football game but that’s all they needed to advance to the NFC Championship Game.  Eli Manning was outstanding as he completed 12 of 18 passes for 163 yards with 2 TD passes.  Brandon Jacobs was solid with 54 yards rushing on 14 carries (3.9 ypc) with a TD run.  Ahmad Bradshaw also ran the ball well in this game as he carried the ball 6 times for 34 yards (5.7 ypc).  Amani Toomer had a monster game as he caught 4 passes for 80 yards with 2 TD grabs.  Steve Smith also made some clutch plays as he caught 4 passes for 48 yards.  The Giants finished up with 90 yards on 23 carries (3.9 ypc) and they also completed 12 of 18 passes for 140 yards.

The Giants defense was led by safety Gibril Wilson (10 tackles) and end Michael Strahan (8 tackles).  The Cowboys finished up with 154 yards rushing on 33 carries (4.7 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 36 passes for 182 yards.

This will be the third game between these two rivals which were both won by the Dallas Cowboys.  Still, the Cowboys haven’t played in the last couple of weeks and they rested their players in the last regular season game against the Redskins so they could be rusty.  The Giants however are playing their best football of the season and they are 8-1 on the road this season with the only loss at Dallas.

The key to the game for the Giants when they have the football will be mixing up the play calling.  That’s because the Giants will be in trouble if they know when Eli Manning will be throwing the football.  CBs Terence Newman and Anthony Henry are outstanding cover corners so look for Manning to throw the ball a lot to tight end Kevin Boss over the middle of the football field. 

The Cowboys will try to also mix up the play calling to slow the Giants pass rush which has been outstanding all season long.  Look for the Cowboys to lean on Marion Barber in the running game and TE Jason Witten in the passing game.  The Giants defense will likely focus on stopping Terrell Owens who dominated them this season.  With that in mind look for the Cowboys to use Patrick Crayton and Terry Glenn often.

PREDICTION:  COWBOYS 31, GIANTS 27

The Giants physically pounded the Bucs on Sunday in Tampa as they earned a trip to Dallas next weekend to take on the Cowboys.  Eli Manning was razor sharp as he completed 20 of 27 passes for 185 yards with 2 TD passes.  Brandon Jacobs had a decent game before he was injured as he carried the ball 13 times for 34 yards (2.6 ypc) with 1 TD run and they also caught 2 passes for 16 yards and a TD.  Ahmad Bradshaw followed Jacobs into the game and he did a solid job carrying the football 17 times for 66 yards (3.9 ypc).  Amani Toomer was the star of the receiving corps as he caught 7 passes for 74 yards (10.6 avg) with a TD grab.  The Giants finished up with 100 yards rushing on 30 carries (3.3 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 27 passes for 177 yards.

The Giants defense played very well against the Bucs and it was led by defensive end Michael Strahan who had 9 tackles and a sack.  The Bucs finished up with 69 yards rushing on 22 carries (3.1 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 39 passes for 202 yards.

It will be interesting to see which coach did the right thing down the stretch between Jon Gruden and Tom Coughlin.  Gruden rested his starters the last couple of weeks (the Bucs lost both games) while Coughlin played his regulars last week as he tried to beat the Patriots despite having nothing to gain.

When the Giants have the football they will likely try to bully the Bucs small but fast defense with the running game.  Look for Brandon Jacobs and rookie Ahmad Bradshaw to pound on the Bucs defense which is allowing 107.9 yards rushing per game.  If the Giants are effective running the football it will set up play action passes which is one thing Eli Manning is good at.  The Bucs safeties (Tanard Jackson and Jermaine Phillips) will be the key for the defense against the Giants because they will have to take the tight end (Kevin Boss) out of the Giants offense because Manning loves throwing the short pass over the middle.  The safeties also will need to help Ronde Barber with Plaxico Burress who has a huge height advantage and Manning is good at throwing the jump ball.

The Buccaneers must keep the ball on the ground in this football game.  Ernest Graham and Michael Pittman must carry the load against a Giants defense that is allowing 97.7 yards rushing per game.  The reason the Bucs need to be effective running the ball is to slow the Giants pass rush.  The Giants had 53 sacks this season and will no doubt be bringing the heat against the young offensive line of the Bucs.  Osi Umenyiora (13 sacks), Justin Tuck (10 sacks) and Michael Strahan (9 sacks) will likely put a lot of pressure on Jeff Garcia who will make mistakes if rushed.  But, if the Bucs line can give Garcia time to throw the ball he should be effective against a Giants defense that is allowing 207.3 yards passing per game.

PREDICTION:  NEW YORK GIANTS 24, TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS 13

The Giants have made the playoffs because of their running game and solid defense.  Eli Manning had another wildly inconsistent season in which he posted another poor QB Rating (73.9).  Manning has played in 16 games this season and he completed 297 of 529 passes (56.1%) for 3,336 yards with 23 TD passes and 20 interceptions.  He also carried the ball 29 times for 69 yards (2.4 ypc) with 1 TD run this year.  Manning has now played in 57 games in his NFL career and he has completed 987 of 1,805 passes (54.7%) for 11,385 yards with 77 TD passes and 64 interceptions (73.4 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 89 times for 205 yards (2.3 ypc) with 2 TD runs in his career.

Jared Lorenzen wasn’t needed much as the Giants backup this season.  He played in 2 games for the Giants this year and he completed 4 of 8 passes (50%) for 28 yards with 0 TDs and 0 INTs (58.3 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 1 time for 2 yards.  Before this season Lorenzen had never thrown a pass in the NFL and he only had 1 carry for 2 yards.

Anthony Wright also got a cup of coffee with the Giants this season and it didn’t go well.  Wright played in 4 games last season for the Giants and he completed 1 of 7 passes (14.3%) for 12 yards (39.6 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 1 time for -1 yard.  Wright has now played in 33 games in his NFL career and he has completed 332 of 605 passes (54.9%) for 3,590 yards with 20 TD passes and 25 interceptions (66.3 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 80 times for 221 yards (2.8 ypc).

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